The game does not have a story mode so this part can be skipped.
Nintendo's game is a 5vs5 "football/soccer" game where the players try to score more goals that their opponents. At the start of the game the player gets to choose how many players will be playing between 1-8. They then have to choose their team members. Only four heroes can be selected as the 5th is
the goalkeeper who is always Boom Boom. Selecting the team players is an important task as they all have their unique strengths and weaknessess that will affect the gameplay. For example, a character like Bowser exceeds in strength, but he is very slow and has a bad trible, where as Toad exceeds in speed but
can barely use strength to steal the ball. Balancing the team to the players liking is possible by selecting the ideal heroes. Once the eight players are selected the player can choose half the kingdom they wish to represent their home turf. This is a small detail that only changes the austetick of the background.
The players will then enter the field through a cinematic intro and take their positions in the field for the kick off.
The match will then begin and the player will have a given time limit(Which was selected in the home screen) to score more goals than their opponents. As mentioned the game represents football but similar to other Super Mario Games Nintendo adds their chaotic nature with the introduction of power ups. Similar to
other titles these power ups can either help you steal the ball or buff the players to help them score the goal. For example using a star or a mushroom will be used on the controlled hero, whilst things like Banana, bombs and shells will attack the enemies and allow you to steal the ball. All the heroes including NPC can
collect the items but only the main controlled heroes can activate them. If a box appears colored in a specific team's pallete(not rainbow), it means only that team can collect it. One of IF NOT the most important power up is the power shot. A shiny orb will appear and any of the two teams can collect it. Once
obtained by a player the entire team will glow in the aura of the teams color. The player can then use the power shot by charging the shoot. Once fully charge the player will have to do a quick time event and stop the line in the blue area twice. Doing so will trigger the hero's cinematic special shoot. This shoot will guarantee
reach the goal and cause an AoE attack around it. (Luigi's is a tornado, Waluigi's thorns web, Mario's fire etc). If the striker perfectly timed the shot twice the ball will 100% go inside the goal. If it was time once or even zero times the goallie will have to rapidly tap the button to prevent the balll from going in. Sometimes
it will go in and sometimes not. A goal scored using the power shot will worth 2 goals. It is worth mentionning that the opposing team can still steal the ball by tackling or using offensive items on the player during the activation step of the power shoot.
The general mechanics are the same as any soccer/football game. The heroes move around in the environment trying to get their hands on the ball. Once they do they can drible around. They can pass the ball to their teammates or cross it to them. Holding down either cross or pass allows you to pass it somewhere else, not directly to
the teammate. The Player does have a sprint button which would allow the heroes to move faster towards their objective, whether is to run away with the ball or run back to defend. If a player is sweating it means they run out of energy and they ll have to rest a few seconds. When you dont possess the ball you can tackle an enemy to
steal the ball. Holding down the tackle will charge a stronger hit which will sent the opponents flying before face planting on the ground. Pushing opponents on the walls will also shock them. There is no fould and no injuries, so you can spamm the attack button as many times as possible. Keep in mind, based on the heroes status, the time
they sprint and the power needed depends on the heroes in use. E.g. Toad will have to charge tackle longer to foul a character like Bowser and can sprint double the distance than him. The only way to avoid a tackle, is by using the dodge button( or shake the Joycon) which will allow the hero to dodge the upcomming attack. Dodging a tackle will
stunn the tackling player and grant speed boost to the person who dodged it. Last but not least, perfect timing shoots or passes during a pass/cross will make the shot/pass more powerfull.
The game offers both Online and Local multiplayer. In local multiplayer, the player can have up to 8 people joinning them. The players can then choose which team they want to represent right or left. Once they do that, they can go to their hero select where they ll choose their team members. In case there re less than 8 players playing, it doesnt matter who they ll choose(as long as they re on team) cause if they have Ai companion they can always swap between members. Unlike single player, any player can use the items.
The main negative argument the game received is its lack of heroes. As of 2024(two years after its release) the game only has 16 heroes 17 if we count the goalie. For a universe filled with iconic heroes having only 16 is a bit under perfoming especially with the given price tag. The developers left iconic characters like Goompas, troopas, king Boo and others
out. Given how the developers held back on the animations, i believe they could ve expanded the roaster.
At the end of each game/match the player receive coins for their participation, the ammount differs based on winning or losing. They can spent this coins to buy items to help them boost their status. Their are different armor pieces(Helmets, gloves, boots, shirts etc) that increase certain status and help enchance heroes who lack in a certain department. Eg. speed up
Bowsers movement.
When it comes down to the music and graphics, the game does look better than its predecessors. Ofcourse given the 17 years gap, that should ve been a guarantee for everyone. When it comes down to the music, the game is simply ok, theres nothing iconic or something unique about it's soundtracks. Its simply there. The animation department showed so much prommised but also
showed the low effort of the developers. What do i mean is that the developers went out of their way to include celebretory animations(for when they score), and reaction animations(if the enemy scors) for each hero. The quantity though, its 2 and 1 and although they re great, the lack of them is obvious. Essentially you re seeing the excact same animations over and over. There is no
excuse for their lack, as the game doesnt even have that big of a roaster to excuse them.
The game doesn't have amiibo support.
Overall Super Mario Strikers Battle League, is a game that i personally only enjoyed during local coop with my friends. As a single experience i found myself done with it after less than 2 hours and playing more that 15 games. I pretty much saw everything the game had to offer within that game time. On the other hand playing with a group of friends (i played it multiple times with different number
of friends varying from simply 2 to 7) feels like a completely different experience as the friendly toxicity elevates the game. The game mechanics are very simple and everybody can join and become an expert within the first three games. The game does not offer many heroes to play with and it clearly went low effort when making individual animations for them. Obtainning the game from a sale or something is
a good deal but obtainning it for its full price would not be something i would reccomend.